The present invention relates generally to a loading dock bumper used for cushioning the impact of a vehicle, for example a transport vehicle, when positioning up against a loading dock or the like. U.S. Pat. No. Reissue 24,276 (Schuyler) discloses a loading dock bumper consisting of a plurality of resilient rubber like strips arranged face-to-face in stacked relationship, and these strips are secured together at the two ends of the stack by a pair of angle brackets such that the rubber strips are directly exposed to the vehicle. With time, the rubber strips will deteriorate due to constant shock and friction from the vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,730 (Shtarkman) discloses a flexible wall spring chamber which includes a selectively pressurable gas chamber between two rigid members connected by a flexible side wall. U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,905 (Murray) discloses a dock bumper constructed of rubber fragments mixed with an adhesive and bonded together, the rubber fragments being produced by fragmenting at least one tire containing rubber and strands of reinforcing material used to reinforce the tire, wherein a sufficient quantity of adhesive is mixed with the rubber to create a free standing article having structural integrity said dock bumper formed under pressure in a mold having the desired shape for a time period sufficient for the adhesive to set.
The prior art solutions appear to either have a short life and/or costly and complex to manufacture.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a loading dock bumper that is economical to produce.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a loading dock bumper that has a substantially long wear life.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a loading dock bumper which uses waste material in the production thereof.
Further and other objects of the invention will be apparent to a person skilled in the art in reading the following.